Although made of spun aluminum, tablas can and do break, as do tablas of clay. The rim and rim connection area to the body of the tabla is the most important part of the tabla with the cylindrical body being second most important part.

THE RIM AND CONNECTING AREA OF THE TABLA BODY.

The rim holds the skin onto the tabla body using allan key bolts if the skin is plastic or a series of ropes if the skin is animal skin. The main reason of the rim’s importance is that it is also a playing area of the tabla. Once a rim has cracked, it affects the sound of the tabla and needs to be replaced. Tabla rims are not available separately and as such you would need to replace the whole drum.

Rims never crack on their own and very rarely due to striking a Tek or Ka too hard. You would be more likely to bruise or fracture your fingers before cracking the rim! It is always due to a knock or dropping of the drum. Even dropping or knocking a tabla over on a piece of carpet can cause rim cracking so the first rule of Tabla Care is that when it is not in use, it must be turned upside down onto a piece of carpet (a carpet rug can be bought and easily cut to fit the tabla head and will fit inside the tabla bag as well.

THE PLASTIC SKIN

The plastic skin needs to be replaced if signs of slackness which cannot be tightened by tightening the bolts on the head or if bubbles or thinning of the skin can be visibly seen. Skins are sold separately. Animal or Fish skins are also replaceable but are more durable and are more commonly found on clay tablas. If you have a clay tabla, do NOT oil the animal skin. If the oil comes into contact with the clay, the clay will soften over time rendering the tabla useless. Oil will seep into baked clayware and glazed bakeware if fissures or cracks are there visibly or not. You would be better to extremely lightly apply a very small amount of beeswax but it rarely needs to be done, if ever as it takes a very long time before animal skin will show signs of cracking.

THE RIM BOLTS.

You should have received an allen key with your tabla when you purchased it. Do NOT play around with tightening to tabla rim. This is particularly important if you are not experienced in the sounds of various tablas or do not know the required tightness for your tabla as a couple of things may happen. You can stretch the skin too tight or you could crack the rim with over tightening. You should only need to remove the skin when (and ONLY when) you need to replace the skin.

THE TABLA BODY

If dropped or knocked over hard, the tabla body will do one of two things. It will either get a hole or it will split. Being able to fix it depends on the severity of the injury and where on the drum body it is. If it is a small/medium hole, it can be fixed using car bog and if the tabla is vinyl covered, the vinyl must be removed (either entirely or partially) and all traces of glue removed before bogging and sanding after the bog has cured for 24 hours. Large amounts of car bog WILL change the sound of the drum, so it is best for minor repairs only..... otherwise, you will need to buy a new tabla.

Love
Samiya
xxx